BAP – rock in Cologne dialect

Although band leader and singer Wolfgang Niedecken sings in Cologne dialect, BAP's Kölschrock is understood all over the world. Niedecken modelled himself on Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen – and his band's music is just as direct and honest as theirs.

Niedecken founded his band BAP in Cologne in 1976. At the outset, the vocals in dialect made the project seem like a small, regional affair, but then the third album Für usszeschnigge! (1981) got to number one in the German charts. To date there have been nine other number one albums, and more than 20 BAP songs have topped the singles charts. Kölschrock's popularity isn't confined to Germany. BAP are stars in Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark and Switzerland too, and their tours have taken them to destinations as far afield as Mozambique, Nicaragua, China and the Soviet Union (1989).